In the early morning hours of Nov. 25, 2006, Sean Bell, a 23-year-old New York City man due to be married later that day, walked out of a Queens strip club, climbed into a gray Nissan Altima with two friends who had been celebrating with him — and died in a hail of 50 bullets fired by a group of five police officers.
The shooting shocked the city and brought back memories of the deaths in other high-profile police shootings — in particular, the death of Amadou Diallo, an African peddler killed after police fired 41 shots at him in 1999. Both men were black and both were unarmed, although in both cases the officers appeared to have believed the suspect had a gun....
...After hearing evidence in the case, Deputy Commissioner Martin G. Karopkin, acting as the trial judge, ruled that the Detective Isnora acted improperly. He recommended that Detective Isnora be fired for his actions during the shooting and for stepping outside his role as an undercover officer, thereby endangering himself and others, the official said.
As for a second officer, Michael Carey, Mr. Karopkin recommended that he be found not guilty of improperly firing his weapon and that he be allowed to stay on the force, said the official, who insisted on anonymity because the matter was continuing....
